Added time spent per page
by Aquiles CarattinoAfter my post reached the first page of Hacker News, I realized I had no way of knowing whether people was actually reading the article or just bouncing.
After tinkering the entire weekend, I came up with a solution to track the time spent on each page, without cookies and without risking any privacy violations. It also takes into account open but not on focus pages.
Now I can tell for sure that people spent on average 20 minutes reading my guide on how to write a programming book.
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Your product looks nice but I have to say that I think you're really undercharging
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I agree, I wouldn't trust sending the data of 1M users to a $6/mo service. I mean, even the server to host/process this data would cost more than that, what's the catch?
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Processing the data is an incredibly efficient processes.
Let's do some math: 1M users means on average 1000000/30/24/60/60=0.39 visitors per second, assuming 6 page views per visitor, that gives 2.3 hits per second. My current, single-thread, non-optimized (i.e. too many queries to the database) script, on the cheapest digital ocean droplet can consume around 100 hits/second. This means, my server costs of 5U$/month are my starting point for charging.
By the way, I am building the project completely open, not just the code, but the entire business so any discussions are always welcome (also code contributions). I am not trying to make a living out of Privalytics, but a tool that both satisfies me, and makes a healthier internet.
The server is already full with users (non-paying), and none with 1M visits/month, and I had to close new sign ups while I evaluate whether it is wise to scale up the infrastructure. The 1M mark was left there, but I think I want to target low traffic websites with a very accessible plan (many personal websites, or blogs like mine, etc.)
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It's great that this is a side project but I think you still shouldn't choke its potential by doing this. Server costs are usually cheap but in the future you'll probably need to hire and pay yourself etc. What if a bigger company is thinking about HIPAA and you have to hire specialists, pay for data centers etc. Having the money available allows some of these things to happen.
If someone wants to host, you're basically making it free for them to get all your work since it's open source. However, if they pick you to host for them, you should charge a premium that will enable you to potentially pick this up full time. Of course, this is just my opinion and you have the full authority to decide how you may since it's your project.
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I totally understand what you say. However, I don't want it to be my full-time focus. I'm actually the co founder of a high tech company that builds devices to characterize nanoparticles. I just have a broad range of interests, and Privalytics is a way of keeping me sharp with some web technologies.
My target (at least spiritually) are not the people with 1M/month, but all those out there who have a personal blog, a side project, and want to learn how to serve their audience better.
For instance, my websites generate around 50k impressions a month. I wouldn't pay for analytics more than for hosting, which for 50k is 5u$/month. (and even for 500k would still be 5/month, but I assume with those numbers, the websites would be generating much more revenue).Anyways, I appreciate your feedback. It is something that is always around my head. Choosing what to maximize, including personal development.
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Woohoo!
20 mins avg on guide? Fantastic. Means they're getting good value from it to spend that long reading it.
Are you running ads to the guide or simply organic reach?-
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Indeed, I added the feature because I was not counting bounces, and wanted to see the real numbers. But they came in as a big surprise for me! I reached out to some readers and they told me they actually study the guides. Let's say it is hit or miss, if they stay, the stay for long.
Everything is organic, no ads. By the way, the stats you are seeing are for Python for the Lab.
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That's amazing. You're obviously doing it very right. Congrats! 🙌
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